


Precinct fifteen

by WeirdV



Series: Let's write some prompts, cause it's fun. [12]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: AU, BAMF!Stiles, Guess you can say a Castle AU, Kidfic, M/M, OC, actor!derek, cop!Stiles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-01
Updated: 2014-12-03
Packaged: 2018-02-27 18:00:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2702117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WeirdV/pseuds/WeirdV
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek Hale had been acting for almost three years before he got the part in the TV-show. Playing the lead in a new cop show made him nervous, there were so many other cop-shows out there, and the competition was murder – no pun intended. He’ d told his agent – and little sister – this a week ago, and then last night he got a call.<br/>“Remember that cop show you’ve been stressing out about?” she asked, “I pulled some strings and arranged it for you to follow around a detective for about a week. Goes by the name Stilinski, precinct fifteen. Be there at eight, in the morning. This guy’s supposed to be good, Derek. Youngest to make detective in LAPD history.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Those who've read 'go get him, Tiger' will recognize a lot of things.  
> Yes, I was lazy, and Yes, I borrowed a lot of the background I made for that story in this one.  
> So, I guess you can look at this like 'How it could have gone'.  
> Anyways, enjoy
> 
> okay, the information in this fic on epilepsy comes from sources online. So don't expect this to be 100% trusthworthy information! :)

Derek Hale had been acting for almost three years before he got the part in the TV-show. Playing the lead in a new cop show made him nervous, there were so many other cop-shows out there, and the competition was murder – no pun intended. He’ d told his agent – and little sister – this a week ago, and then last night he got a call.

“Remember that cop show you’ve been stressing out about?” she asked, “I pulled some strings and arranged it for you to follow around a detective for about a week. Goes by the name Stilinski, precinct fifteen. Be there at eight, in the morning. This guy’s supposed to be good, Derek. Youngest to make detective in LAPD history.”

“What?” Derek didn’t really know how to respond.

“No worries, I cleared the idea with the show’s directors and scriptwriters, and they loved the idea. Asked you’d keep a journal – or something like that – which they’d love to take a look at later on.”

 

And that was why, on Monday morning, he stumbled into the police station at a little past eight. A young man walked up to him eyeing him for a second and looking in a foul mood.

“You Derek Hale?” he asked, Derek nodded, “’Kay, let’s make one thing clear. I agreed to this in exchange for three extra days off, that’s all. I work too much. First of all, the rules. You stand where I tell you to, you speak when I tell you to, and you will be told by me when you can ask questions. Any questions?”

He shook his head, slightly taken aback by the man – who was at least a few years younger than him – before biting his tongue and not asking for his age.

“Good’ he smiles, “Now, next time you’re late, I leave without you. The guys are waiting for me at the crime scene, and if goddamn Dunbar got a chance to contaminate the crime scene again because I was late, I’ll kick your fucking ass. We clear?”

Derek nods and the man gestures him to follow, stopping him as they get to the car and giving Derek another once over, “Also, next time, bring me coffee. Black, two sugars.”

“Yes sir” he says, trying not to look too scared or intimidated. The man smiles, a wide smile that lights up his entire face, little lines of tiredness around his eyes.

“I like that. The yes sir, thing. Yeah. Keep that up” he grins, “Now get in the car, Hale.”

 

Stilinski is on the phone the entire drive to the crime scene, barking orders at people and asking questions. When they finally arrive – the house is taped off with yellow police tape – they get out and he sighs loudly. Then he gestured for Derek to follow him inside, and tells him to stand in the corner.

 

 

Stiles kneels down next to the body, “He was the target” he says, “Ricochet, if I see correctly. The second shot missed, have someone dig it out of the wall. Not Liam, please” he shakes his head and gets up again.

“Did someone check the bedroom?” he asks, a resounding _no_ echoes through the room and he sighs again. Derek looks at the scene and tries not to puke, the woman’s brain is splashed against the carpet, and her husband is lying on the floor, surrounded by a puddle of his own blood.

“Hale” Stilinski says, startling him from his thoughts, “If you feel like you’re gonna hurl, run outside. Please don’t puke on the victims, we clear?”

“Yes sir” he says, a man to his right snorts.

“Wow, Stiles” the man grins, “Already got him whipped into shape, huh?”

“Hey, I already got Dunbar fucking up my crime scenes” he shrugs, “Don’t need anyone else doing that, huh Ramirez.”

“You love Dunbar, and you know it” Ramirez replies and Stiles shrugs.

“I don’t know what it is” he says, “But the kid’s going to get far. If he can just remember not to pick things up at crime scenes.”

Ramirez gives a short nod, as if agreeing with Stilinski – who gestures to Hale to follow him. They walk up the stairs together, “Don’t touch anything” Stiles says as he opens a door and they walk into the bedroom.

He puts on some gloves and starts looking through drawers before – after about ten minutes – pulling out a notebook.

“Knew she’d keep a diary” he grins, leafing through it for a second before pausing and frowning as he reads a certain entry.

“Ramirez” he shouts, the man walks into the room five seconds later, “The misses here was having an affair,” he hands the diary to his colleague, “Put out an APB on the man. The name looks too familiar.”

“Okay, got it boss” he gives a short nod, “Anything else?”

“Start rounding up witnesses” he says, “I’m going to swing by miss Jones’ dear sister. She probably knows more.”

“Okay, are you bringing her to the station?” he asks, Stiles smiles again.

“You know me too well” he says, “Hale, let’s go.”

When they get back in the car the man turns towards him, “Hale, any questions?”

“Is it that simple?” he asks, frowning as he looks at the house, “Solving a case?”

“Sometimes, yes. Sometimes I just make it look simple. Finding evidence is instinct. Overall there was no reason to check the bedroom, and we might have only started looking for evidence of an affair after the ME’s report” he says, starting the car, “Mostly, it’s a pain in the ass. So I enjoy the simple ones. Means I’m home at a decent hour.”

“A lot of late hours?” he asks, curiously.

“Not really” he shrugs, “I tend to do a lot at home, connecting the clues mainly, besides that I get mostly office hours, they only call me in for night shifts and crap like that when they are stuck on it.”

“Why do they call you?” he asks, it seems strange to call in someone who clearly hasn’t been doing this job for so long.

“You know how old I was when I solved my first murder?” he asks, Derek bites his lip, “No, honestly. Take a guess.”

“Twenty three?” he asks, Stiles shakes his head.

“Seventeen” he nods, “My dad’s the sheriff. He’d often bring files home and I’d sneak a peek. I’m good at what I do, maybe it runs in our blood – right? But solving mysteries and taking out bad guys? It’s what I was born to do, and I’m goddamn good at it.”

“I saw” Derek says, his face not hiding just how impressed he is, “My agent said you were the youngest to make detective in LAPD history.”

“Cora?” he asks, Derek nods – surprised that he’d know her name, “Yeah, she’s right. She’s also a pain in the ass.”

“You know her?” Derek asks surprised, Stiles looks at her and nods before grinning.

“Yeah. I forgot, she’s your sister too, right?” it’s not really a question, but Derek nods nonetheless, “We went to school together. I owed her one.”

“What for?” he asks, Stiles laughs.

“I might have set her up with a guy that turned out to be a total creep” he laughs as he seems to remember the moment in question, “In my defense, she did say she was into older guys. She should’ve specified age.”

“Oh, wow” Derek shakes his head, “I could’ve gone my entire life without knowing that about my sister.”

“Hey, me too” he says, and then – as he turns into a driveway, his expression changes, “Okay. Time for talking is over. I got a job to do.”

 

~~~

 

They spend an entire afternoon inside, before driving off again.

“We have to go clear the crime scene” Stiles explains, as they get in the car. After fifteen minutes they arrive, and Derek follows as he walks up to the house. He talks to the five cops for a moment, then they remove the yellow tape, lock up the door, and seal it with another yellow tape.

“I want someone drive by here every half hour” he says, the men nod and start working out a schedule, then they return to the car.

“Okay, I hope you don’t mind, but I have an errand to run” Stiles says, Derek frowns.

“Sure, no problem” he says, getting into the car as they drive off again. They drive for half an hour this time, and when they arrive Stiles asks Derek to wait in the car.

“Don’t touch anything, by the way” he says, “You touch my radio, I will shoot you. Not mortally wound, but maybe a bullet in your leg.”

“Yes, sir” he says, and Stiles smiles as he checks his watch and jumps out of the car. They’re in a nearly abandoned parking lot, at some public building. Derek doesn’t know the place, but he’s assuming it’s something personal.

 

“Daddy, you are late” the little blonde girl says, crossing her arms in dismay, “Why are you late?”

“Sorry, blip” he says, picking her up, “I had to go catch a bad guy. How was she today?”

“She was good” the teacher smiles, “Erica did have an argument with little Bruce, but they worked it out in the end.”

“It’s Cat” she says, “From Catwoman, like mommy. And Bruce admitted that he was stupid and wrong, or I would’ve punched him.”

“Blip, what did we talk about last time?” Stiles asks, placing his finger on her cheek and making her look at him, she bites her lip.

“No hurting people” she says, sticking out her bottom lip, “Can we go home now, daddy? Please?”

“Yes” he says, “But I have to drop something off at work first. Besides, everyone wants to see you again.”

“Of course they do, daddy” she smiles, “I’m super cool.”

“She’s feisty for a four year old, I give you that” the teacher – Emily – says with a fond smile.

“That’s all her mom, trust me” he grins, “but I suppose her dad balances that out, right. Scariest looking dude I ever met, but soft as a teddy bear.”

“My mom and dad were the coolest” Erica says, nodding in agreement, “But now we have to go.”

“Yes” Stiles waves at the teacher, “See you tomorrow.”

“Bye Erica, Bye Stiles” she says, waving back as they walk to the car.

 

 

“Daddy” Derek is startled by the voice in the backseat, “Is that what you have to drop off at work?”

Derek looks back and is greeted by a little blonde girl, with bright blue eyes wearing pink jeans and a superman T-shirt.

“Yes, blip” he says, clicking her into the car seat that – how had Derek not seen that before, come to think of it, this is not even the same car they took this morning.

“Is he the bad guy you had to catch that made you late?” she asks, giving Derek a dirty look.

“No, sweetie” he laughs, “He’s a friend. He wants to learn how to be a good detective so he can play one on TV.”

“So he follows you because you’re the bestest!” she says, a wide grin, “Does he have a gun too?”

“No, he doesn’t” Stiles says, “So, change of subject. What do you want for dinner?”

“Pizza” she says determinately.

“Nice try, blip. You had pizza yesterday” he says, “No pizza two days in a row.”

“Why not?” she pouts, Stiles sighs and shakes his head.

“Remember last time you ate too much pizza?” he asks, “And we had to go see auntie Lydia in the hospital?”

“Okay, no pizza” she says quickly, “Uhm. Tomatoes. I like tomatoes. And hamburgers.”

“Hmm, okay” he says, “We’ll do that.”

“Daddy” she suddenly whispers very loud and Stiles looks at her in his rear-view mirror, “Why is your friend so grumpy?”

“I don’t know, Catwoman, why don’t you ask him?” he whispers back loudly, and Derek feels his face turn bright pink, causing Stiles to grin.

“He’s too grumpy looking” she replies, “He’ll probably just growl. Like that doggy that uncle Scott had to operate on last week.”

“Yes, but the doggy got better, so that was good” Stiles says, “What did you do at school today, Blip?”

“We drew kitties” she says proudly, “Mine was the best, I drew the kitty that uncle Scott healed last month.”

“Blip – do you want to go visit uncle Scott next week?” he asks, rolling his eyes and sighing amused.

“ _Yes !_ Can we daddy? Can we?” she asks enthusiastically.

“We’ll call him after dinner and ask, but you know he’s busy planning his wedding with Kira” he says, the little girl nods and Stiles pulls up to the precinct. Derek gets out and waits quietly as Stiles helps the kid out of her car seat. Derek’s not that good with kids, he doesn’t hate them, but he never quite knows what to say to them. Stiles, however, seems to be a natural, which is something all dads seem to be. He picks up the little girl, putting her down as they walk into the precinct, she almost immediately runs off and Stiles doesn’t seem worried about it whatsoever.

“So, we start at five to eight tomorrow” he says, leaning against his desk and looking at Derek, “I’ll give you my number, if you are late, you can let me know. Also, give me yours. I might always run late when I have to drop off the little munchkin.”

“Uhm, yes sir” he says, pulling out his phone and handing it to Stilinski to put in his number, his long fingers glide over the touch screen as he inserts his number and sends himself a text before handing the phone back.

“You text me if you have any questions, and I’ll call you back whenever possible” he says, looking over his shoulder. The little girl is talking to Ramirez – who is kneeling down to be at eyelevel with her – and seems enthralled to see him. Dunbar is standing next to the girl and she keeps pulling at his trousers.

“Are you going to uncle Scott’s wedding?” she asks him, he smiles.

“Of course I am” he smiles, “Wouldn’t leave my old teammate in the cold, now would I?”

She shakes her head and then walks over to a chair by the desks and crawls on top of it, sitting at the desk and pulling some papers towards her.

“Did daddy arrest a lot of bad guys today?” she asks, Liam grins.

“A few” he says, “What did you do today, Erica?” he asks, she glowers at him, “Sorry, Cat.”

“Yes, Liam” Ramirez grins, “You know her name is Cat, from Catwoman.”

“Yeah, just like mommy” she says proudly, crossing her arms, “Mommy was Catwoman and daddy Stiles was Batman.”

“I heard” Ramirez smiles, exchanging a look with Stiles who gives a slight nod before turning towards Derek.

“Anyways, I got to go” Stiles says, smiling, “Hope you had fun today. And if not, well, too bad. See ya tomorrow, sucker.”

“See you tomorrow” he replies, Stiles nods and turns around, walking towards his daughter.

 

~~~

 

Derek leans back on his couch, enjoying a beer after dinner, before deciding to call his sister.

“Hi there, Derek” she picks up after two rings, “How was it?”

“Why didn’t you tell me you went to school with him?” he asks, and he almost swears he can hear her roll her eyes.

“Because it doesn’t really matter” she answers, “How was it, Derek.”

“It was – this guy? Have you seen him work? It’s amazing, Cora” he says, biting his lip, “One moment he’s completely bad ass, and then he’s interrogating witnesses and suspects. He solved a case today, _in_ _one_ _day_.”

“Are you – are you _crushing_ on Stiles Stilinski?” she asks, Derek snorts in response, “hey, I wouldn’t blame you for it. I used to crush on him too. Especially after he solved that murder at school.”

“Yeah, he said something about solving his first murder at seventeen” Derek remembers, getting up to grab something to drink from his fridge, “You knew him then?”

“Yeah” she replies, “I was dating his friend, Isaac, at the time. So I went to a lot of lacrosse games, and he was on the team.”

“Oh, right. Isaac. I liked him, why did you guys break up again?” he asks, trying to remember if she ever told him.

“I don’t know. I went to college, we lost touch. I liked him too, maybe I should get back in touch with him” she says, “I’ll ask Stiles if he’s still in touch with him.”

“You should” he says, “Also, did you know Stilinski had a kid?”

“Little Erica? Yeah. Uhm, it’s his friend’s daughter. She died giving birth, her husband was killed in action” she says, “She had some condition and asked Stiles to raise her kid, were anything to happen to her.”

“Oh, I didn’t know” he sighs, rubbing his eyes. The day had been more tiring than he had expected it to be.

“Well, I know he doesn’t like to advertise it. I haven’t seen the kid in two years” she explains, “But hey, if you like him, go for it.”

“I don’t like him, Cora” he sighs, “He’s – uhm. Kind of scary?”

“Stiles?” she laughs, “That’s – o god. This is wonderful. Look, Derek, I got to go. Have an early day tomorrow. Talk to you later, brother dear.”

“Yeah, good night” he hangs up the phone and sets his alarm, deciding to turn in for the night as well.

 

~~~

 

“Stilinski, what the hell did you say to my brother” Cora says as soon as he picks up, Stiles laughs.

“Cora? I have no idea what you’re talking about” he says, sounding genuinely confused.

“He said you sort of scared him” she grins, and Stiles laughs again, “Why is he sort of scared of you? You’re like a huge marshmallow.”

“Well, I did give him the rules about being on my crime scene” he says, “Maybe he was intimidated? I don’t know. If he can’t handle it, he can find someone else to follow around.”

“No, he doesn’t want to. He is amazed by you, damn, Stiles. I don’ t think you know how impressive you get when you go after bad guys. You scare the bejeezus out of people, but it’s also kind of hot” she tells him.

“Oh, uhm. Thank you, I guess” he says, “Is there anything else, I got to go put little blip to bed.”

“Yeah, are you still in touch with Isaac?” she asks, “I was wondering how he’s been.”

“Yeah, I’ll get him your number? I’d rather not pass on his information without asking him first, though. Hope you don’t mind” he says, Cora gives a sound of agreement.

“Okay, thanks a million. Kiss the munchkin goodnight for me” she says, “See you next week.”

“Yes, bye Cora” he says before hanging up and tucking in his daughter.

 

~~~

 

Derek was at the precinct at eight o’clock sharp with a cup of coffee for Stiles. Stiles arrived at ten past eight, looking exhausted and carrying a bunch of files in his arms, smiling gratefully at Derek as he handed him the cup of coffee.

“You are a life saver” he says, suppressing a yawn as he does, “Cat was up all night throwing up, I had to find a babysitter last minute. Luckily my dad had the day off, so that was okay. But he showed up half an hour ago, so I just got dressed quickly and – you so don’t need to know that. Sorry.”

“It’s okay” he smiles, “Is she feeling better?”

“A bit, yeah” he says, dumping the files on his desk and taking a sip of coffee, “At least I got some work done. Follow me.”

Derek nods and follows Stiles – who grabs one of the files – to another office, he knocks on the door and walks in, “Stilinski, my favorite detective” the woman smiles widely at him, “What case did you crack for me this time?”

“Remember that kidnapping case that turned into a murder?” he asks, the woman nods and frowns as Stiles places a newspaper on her desk, “Here. The article, you see?”

“The traffic camera that was vandalized” she says, “What does it have to do with anything?”

“It’s from the same date as the girl went missing” he says, “But if I remember correctly, there’s a jewelry store out there. I figure they definitely have a security camera. I have this theory that maybe our suspect tampered with the camera after he got photographed for speeding and realized there might be a picture of him transporting the victim.”

“And why do you have this theory?” she asks, looking at the pictures and the papers.

“It’s on his way home” he says, “He takes that route every single day. And people are creatures of habit.”

“Okay. I’ll get you a warrant if needed, first try working your charm on the guy” she says, Stiles grins and the woman sighs, “You already got the tape, didn’t you?”

“You know me too well, sir” he says, pulling a flash drive from his pocket, “Want to take a look together?”

“Hell yes” she grins, taking the flash drive and playing it on her computer and the big TV – screen on her wall.

Stiles makes his way to the keyboard, fast forwarding to the correct day and then pausing.

“There” he says, the woman smiles, “That’s him, and that” – he points at the woman in the driver’s seat – “Is the woman he says he’s never met.”

She laughs, “If I could, I’d give you a raise” she says, picking up her phone, “We’re going for drinks tonight, tell Ramirez and Dunbar they’re invited. My treat.”

“Yes, Sir” he grins, “Anything else?”

She shakes her head as the person on the other side of the line picks up, “Yeah, we got him. I’ll have Stilinski bring him in. He cracked the case, I think he deserves the honor, don’t you? I just need a warrant.”

They exchange a few more words and Stiles and Derek walk out of the office, about ten minutes later she sticks out her head, “stilinski! I got your warrant, go arrest the son of a bitch.”

“Sir yes sir” he says, giving a mock salute and nodding towards Derek, “Hale, ready to arrest a murderer?”

“Uhm, yes sir” he says a bit unsure, Stiles grins and gestures for him to follow after grabbing his gun, handcuffs and badge from his desk drawer.

“Let’s go, then” he says, a dazzling smile on his face.

 

~~~

 

They drive for about fifteen minutes, and then they stop in front of a huge mansion.

“Why does this house look so familiar?” Derek asks a bit confused, looking out the window of the car.

“It’s the house of Greenberg” he says, a devious smile on his face as Derek frowns, “You know, the guy running for mayor.”

“Wait – he’s the one you’re arresting?” he asks, Stiles nods as he gets out of the car and walks up to the house to ring the doorbell.

The man opens up wearing a spiffy looking suit and sighs as he sees Stiles standing there with a wide grin and handcuffs.

“What is it this time” he says, “You claiming I killed a woman again?”

“Nope” he grins, “I got evidence this time. Turn around Greenberg, you’re coming with me.”

“Sure” he sighs, “Let me call my lawyer first.”

“At the station, turn around” he says, the man turns as Stiles reads him his Miranda Rights.

 

~~~

 

Derek isn’t allowed in the interrogation room, but he looks through the glass window and is joined by Dunbar.

“Hi” he says, “Have you seen him do this before?”

“No” Derek says, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, “You?”

“A few times” he says, “He’s like a rock star in there. I guess he learnt some from his dad, but even his dad looked star struck after seeing his son crack a suspect.”

“Well, looks like he’s getting started.”

Stiles walks into the room, putting down a few pictures for Greenberg to look at, the man laughs, “That’s all you’ve got on me? Pictures?” he says, rolling his eyes, “So I gave the woman a ride, didn’t mean I killed her.”

“It’s not much” Stiles admits, shrugging, “But it finally gave us a reason to get your prints and DNA.”

“Which you won’t find, because I didn’t kill her” he says, crossing his arms and leaning backwards in his chair.

“I don’t know for sure you did it” he says, sighing, “I mean, I don’t have any evidence yet. But we will have soon, and I really need this case solved. It’s been a thorn in my eye for three weeks now. It’s messing up my statistics.”

“Statistics?” he asks, Stiles sighs again.

“Yeah, normally I have an average of three days to solve a murder. This one, it’s ruining my average” he says, “Luckily you left a lot of evidence and DNA on the body, so we’ll have this solved real soon.”

Greenberg laughs, “Sorry to disappoint you, but I used gloves when I killed her” he says smugly, “I didn’t leave any DNA on her.”

“Of course you did, and here I was thinking you were an idiot”  he says, “The only thing that could crack this case now is a confession.”

“Which you’ll never get from me” Greenberg says, and then he pauses for a second as realization slowly dawns on him, “Oh.”

“Yes, Oh” he says, “And here I was thinking I was losing my mojo. Since you’re already screwed, just give us the story.”

“What? Like telling you where I picked her up?” he says, rolling his eyes, “Or why I killed her?”

“I already know why you killed her” he says, “You were having an affair with her, and she was threatening to come clean about it. When you decided to run for Mayor, you needed to get rid of her. Couldn’t risk the scandal getting out and ruining your chances, now could you?”

“Yeah” he says, crossing his arms and glaring, “And then the bitch says she’s pregnant? What did she expect me to do? Leave my wife and run away with her?”

“She didn’t, actually” Stiles says, pulling another paper from a file, “She was going to give up the baby for adoption. She just wanted you to waver your parental rights. You see, her brother and husband really wanted a baby, and she didn’t.”

“What?” Greenberg frowns, “She – what?”

“I know” Stiles looks sad for a moment, “She didn’t want anything from you. She threatened you once, and then she felt terrible about it and changed her mind after talking to her brother. She wasn’t going to tell anyone, because she wanted her brother to have a family.”

He gets up and sighs again, “I’ll call your lawyer” he says, and then he leaves the room.

 

~~~

 

“He got him to admit” Derek says, sounding amazed, “He – wow.”

“I know” Liam smiles, “And he agreed to teach me all he knows. Maybe someday I’ll be as good as him.”

“Yeah, hey – you knew him at school, right?” Derek asks, Liam nods, “So you knew him when he solved that murder when he was seventeen?”

“Oh – that” Liam frowns, “It was terrible, you know. They’d been dating for almost two years, she was killed a few months after her seventeenth birthday. Stiles went mad about it.”

“I – I didn’t know it was his girlfriend that got killed” he frowns, “That’s terrible.”

“Yeah. Malia, she was really nice, you know? They were crazy about each other” he says, “She got attacked by – look, I shouldn’t talk about this. I mean, it’s personal and - .”

“You’re right” he says, “I shouldn’t have asked you about it, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, you’re curious, I can’t blame you for that” he says, sighing, “Anyways, I should get back to work.”

He gives a slight wave and leaves, letting Stiles back into the room in the process.

“So, what do you think?” he asks, Derek just stares at him in awe.

“I – uhm. That was kinda hot?” he says, biting his lip – Stiles blushes, actually blushes, “Sorry” he quickly stammers.

“Never mind” Stiles says, “I’ve sort of heard that before.”

“Oh” Derek doesn’t know what else to say, hoping that the awkward moment passes soon.

“Look, I’m gonna call my dad and check in on my daughter” he says, “I’ll be right back and fill you in on what we’re doing today.”

 

~~~

 

Stiles leaves the room quickly, walking into the waiting room and closing the door behind him before sinking down to his knees.

“Fuck” he mutters, gasping for air, “Fuck, fuck, fuck!”

He thought he had it under control, he hadn’t had a panic attack in years. He shouldn’t have lied about why he didn’t sleep last night. Sure, Erica was sick, but not the way he’d told everyone. She’d gotten a seizure right before bed, and he’d spent the entire night in the hospital with her going through tests. Lydia – who was the best pediatrician he knew and luckily one of his best friends – had forced him to go to work, promising to keep an eye out on her. He had tried to reach his dad, but he hadn’t picked up because he was – according to the sheriff station – stuck at a crime scene.

He squeezes his eyes shut, trying to focus on his breathing and pull himself together.

His phone starts ringing and he takes a deep breath before picking up.

“Stiles” it’s Lydia, and she sounds worried, “I think you should get back here.”

“What happened” he asks slowly, she doesn’t reply, “Lydia, what happened?”

“Little Erica had another seizure, we’ve put her in an induced coma” she says, he pulls himself up and supports himself on the couch by the door, “Before you freak out, she’s okay. She will wake up from this, but I’m sure you’d want to be here with her.”

“I’ll be there as soon as possible” he says, “I – uhm. Did she ask for me, when?”

“She was fine, Stiles” she says, “Stiles, ask someone else to drive you, okay? I don’t want you to get into an accident.”

“Okay” he says, he knows his voice sounds weak.

“Promise me, Stiles” she says primly.

“I promise” he says, she sighs.

“I’ll call someone to give you a ride” she says, and then she hangs up. He tries to get up from the couch,  but somehow he loses control of his breathing again and he shuts his eyes. There’s a knock on the door, startling him when someone calls his name and he opens the door.

He’s not really aware of who it is until they’re crouched in front of him.

“Sir?” Derek asks uncertainly, placing a hand on his shoulder, “Are you okay?”

Stiles squeezes his eyes shut again, shaking his head and taking another gulp of air.

“Just- keep breathing, okay?” he says calmly – almost as if he knows how to deal with people having a panic attack, “Focus on your breathing. In and out. In and out.”

Stiles does as he says, focusing on his breathing and Derek’s voice. When the door opens again he has his breathing under control.

“Your friend Lydia called me” says Ramirez, “Why the fuck didn’t you tell us? Come on, I’ll give you a ride to the hospital.”

“I can’t – I can’t lose her, Ramirez” he mutters, ignoring Hale and hoping he won’t ask any questions, “She – I promised her parents that I’d keep her safe. Look at me? I’m a mess!”

“Of course you are, Stilinski” he says, “Your daughter is in the hospital. And you are keeping her safe, you’re her father, Stiles. She loves you, and she will be fine!”

“Yeah. You’re right” he says weakly.

“Besides, she’s in the most capable hands with your friend Lydia” he says, extending his hand to Stiles and pulling him up as Derek takes a step aside, “Let’s go tell the boss you’re out for today.”

“Uhm, what about Hale?” he asks, nodding at the man standing to his right “He was supposed to follow me around.”

“Fuck him” he says, Stiles snorts – allowing Ramirez to help him outside and letting his hand rest comfortingly on his shoulder.

“Don’t worry about me” Derek adds – feeling relieved that Stiles isn’t freaking out anymore and waiting outside as they walk into their boss’ office and Stiles let’s Ramirez do the talking.

“Stilinski? Are you okay?” she asks, frowning confused.

“Stiles’ daughter is in the hospital” Ramirez says, “She had an seizure last night, her mother had epilepsy too. He just got a call that they had to put her in an induced coma, and I promised his friend – who’s also her doctor – to give him a ride there.”

“Sure” she says, “Get out of here, be there for your little girl. Let me know if you need anything!”

“Thanks, can handle his shadow?” Ramirez asks, nodding towards Derek who is waiting by Stiles’ desk like a lost puppy.

“Will do” he says, she smiles fondly at Stiles, “And Stiles. She’ll be fine, okay?”

“Thank you, sir” he says weakly.

 

~~~

 

Derek frowns as Stiles’s boss walks towards him and asks him to come to her office. Does this mean he can’t follow Stiles around anymore? Did Stiles ask for Derek to leave because he saw Stiles that way? He nervously bites his lip as he walks into the office and looks around.

“Stilinski won’t be coming back today” she says, “His daughter had a seizure last night, so he’s currently at the hospital with her. Being the idiot that he is, he probably told you some crap story about god knows what. If you want, I can ask someone else if you can follow them around, but from what I understand he was going to show you how all the paperwork stuff around here works. Which is what Grande is doing as well, so she can show you, if you like.”

“Is she okay?” he asks, concerned, “His daughter, Erica. Is she okay?”

“From what I understand she’s in an induced coma, but she should be fine” she says, “I – I didn’t know you knew his daughter.”

“I was with him yesterday when he picked her up from school” he explains, “She looked like a sweet kid.”

“She’s a little menace” she grins, “First time she came here, about six months ago, she asked me why her dad wasn’t my boss because he was _the_ _bestest_ cop in the world.”

“She adores her father, doesn’t she?” he grins too as his boss nods, “Anyways, thank you for letting me know, sir. But I think I’ll go home, maybe visit little Erica later today. See if Stilinski is okay, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course I don’t” she smiles, “Hale, if you’re there. Make sure he eats something, okay? Look out after my _bestest_ cop.”

“Will do, sir” he says before leaving the office and the precinct.

 

~~~

 

When Derek gets to the hospital and finds little Erica’s room, he finds a bunch of people sitting outside. Ramirez walks up to him when he sees him.

“Hi, I uhm. Wanted to see if she was okay” he says, not sure if it was a good idea to come here and suddenly feeling like he’s invading something.

“She gets to you real quick, huh?” he says, “keep an eye out on him, I have to get back to the station.”

Derek nods as Ramirez and Derek walk to the group for a second so Ramirez can introduce him to Stiles’ friends before he leaves.

There’s Scott the vet, Kira the martial arts trainer – and Scott’s fiancé, there’s Isaac – who Derek remembers as his sister’s ex boyfriend and now writes children’s books. Lydia Martin, the doctor, walks up to them (Stiles was sitting by Erica’s bed inside the room) and smiled.

She looks at Derek for a second, and he suddenly realized he knew the girl, she’d dated his friend Jackson for almost three years when they were in college together, before dumping him for being a dumb fuck.

They had stayed in touch for a while, but then Jackson moved to London and Lydia got her internship and things just stopped. The irony of it was that Jackson was now a successful lawyer in London.

“Hale” she says with a small nod before turning to the others, “She’s awake. And okay. We did some tests, and luckily it’s not a heavy form of epilepsy, it’ll be manageable with medication. I’ll get you guys some information on what to look out for, but I’m sure you remember. No flashing lights, no holding her upside down – stuff like that.”

Everyone nods, “How’s Stiles?” Derek asks, causing everyone to look at him, “He – uhm – I found him having a panic attack, so -.”

“He’s okay” Lydia interrupts, giving him a slight smile, “Much better now that Cat is awake and well. Although I think it’d be best if one of us can stay with them tonight. I’m discharging them this afternoon – I got orders to clear the room, if I hadn’t I’d keep them overnight. You can visit in pairs of two – Isaac, Derek, why don’t you two go first.”

Derek nods, a little surprised that he’s the first who can go visit but taking it as a compliment.

 

~~~

 

Stiles looks exhausted when they walk in, “Hi there” he says, “Hale – thanks for earlier, you know.”

“No problem, sir” he says with a nod, “Cora used to have them after the fire all the time, I’m just glad everything is okay now.”

“Yeah” he mutters back, his hand stroking the little girl’s hairs as he looks up again, “By the way, Isaac – Cora asked for your number. Okay if I give it to you?”

“Cora?” Isaac shrugs and gives a nod, “Yeah – long time no see. How has she been?”

He turns to Derek when he asks the question, “Okay, I supposed” Derek replies, “Busy! She’s taken over as my agent, and took on a few others. And she’s still editing for that magazine too, so, yeah. Mostly busy. I think she’d love to hear from you again.”

“Yeah, me too.”

 

~~~

 

Stiles returns to work the next day, he sends Derek a text to let him know about it, and they meet outside the station at a quarter past eight.

“So – uhm” he scratches the back of his head, “I’m sorry if I freaked you out yesterday, it’s just that – well.”

“No need to apologize, sir” he interrupts, “I understand, don’t worry.”

“Okay” he smiles, “And another thing. Just call me Stiles, please. The _sir_ thing was fun for a while, but – you know – you saw me at my worst, so.”

“Stiles it is, then” Derek smiles, “Although I highly doubt that’s your worst. Besides, I also saw you at your best in the interrogation room, remember?”

“Right” he grins, “From what I recall you said I looked _hot.”_

Derek bites his lip, furiously hoping the blush creeping up his cheeks isn’t as obvious as it feels, “Right – uhm.”

Stiles snorts, and then he’s laughing and shaking his head, “Dude, relax” he says, “I won’t hold it against you – much.”

 

~~~

 

Derek develops a serious crush for Stiles – it’s a problem. He gets a call from the producer that afternoon – while in the car with Stiles – and puts him on speaker, per Stiles’ request.

“Mister Hale” the voice booms, “How is the following around going. Learning anything?”

“Yeah, lots of things” he says, the man huffs, “It’s been interesting so far.”

“Somehow I highly doubt that – how old was the guy again?” he asks, “How interesting can it be? I can’t believe I trusted your sister on this.”

“I don’t know how old he is” Derek says, glancing at Stiles who is focusing on the road while driving, “But so far I’ve been following him around for three days and seen him solve two murders single handedly, besides that he’s also raising a kid. So, yeah, I’d say he’s impressive. And interesting.”

“Well – if you say so” the man says mockingly, “I’d love to meet him.”

“You can always join us tomorrow” Stiles remarks, “Although you probably wouldn’t be allowed to, with your record.”

“Excuse me?” the voice replies, “Am I on speaker, Derek? Is that him.”

“It is” Stiles says, eyes still focused on the road, “You’re Stephen Jefferson, right? Yeah – you honestly think I didn’t do a background check before agreeing to letting someone follow me around?”

“So – you can do a background check. Am I supposed to be impressed now?” he asks, Stiles smiles widely and winks at Derek.

“No, of course not” he says, “But I read your file and I noticed some inconsistencies. I really don’t want to fuck this up for Derek, though, so I was happy you’re working with a team. I made some calls, talked to some people. Did you know that your fellow producers don’t _really_ like you?”

“Excuse me?” he asks, Derek snorts, “Are you threatening me, officer Stilinski?”

“Of course not, that’s bellow me” he says, turning right, “I’m informing you that a team of officers is on their way to you to arrest you for fraud and money laundering.”

“Are you serious?” Derek asks, eyes wide, “What about my job?”

“I’m not an idiot, Derek” he says, shaking his head in disappointment of the insinuation, “I talked to the other producers, and asked if you’d keep the part. After I showed them that their colleague had been stealing money and holding it back from every single project he’d worked on so far – well, they were happy to agree to that. They even put it on paper and everything.”

“Oh – okay then” he shrugs, “Thanks, I guess.”

“What the fuck is –“ Stephen starts, but he’s interrupted by a knock on his door, “Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

Then the line goes dead, and Derek bursts out laughing.

Stiles glances at him, watching the man laugh – something tells him he doesn’t do it often, “For a second there I was scared you’d be mad at me.”

“What? Are you kidding me?” he asks, “I hated the guy. A lot. He kept saying I should start dating my co-star for publicity, that I wasn’t allowed to be seen in public dating guys because it would harm the show. He was a complete jerk.”

“Certainly sounds like it” he says, turning a left, “we’re here, by the way.”

 

~~~

 

“Stilinski, good evening” Cora grins as she picks up the phone, her car parked at the side of the road since she was on her way to Derek, “What’s up.”

“Did you hear?” he asks, Cora laughs.

“Of course I heard” she replies, “You got assface Stephen arrested. Derek told me about it – was absolutely awesome. I wish I could’ve seen his face when you told him.”

“Me too” he says, “God – you should’ve seen Derek’s face though. He started laughing and -.”

“Derek laughed?” Cora interrupts, “Seriously? Okay – I wish I could have seen _that_.”

“I got a dashboard cam” he says, “I can show you – if you want. I’ll email it.”

“Thanks” she sighs, “I haven’t heard or seen him laugh in _years_ Stiles.”

“Yeah” Stiles sighs too, “I’ve got a problem, though…”

“Which is?” she asks, “Oh no, has he been bothering you?”

“No – he’s just. Fuck, Cora, he’s distracting” he says, “Have you _seen_ him? I mean, I know he’s your brother, and it’s gross to think of him that way. But – _damn_.”

“Oh – Stiles – are you crushing on my brother?” he asks, rolling her eyes, “I should’ve seen this coming.”

“You _knew_ this would happen” he says, “Remember at school? When I would rave about him, and you’d laugh until you finally admitted that he was your brother?”

“I remember” Cora says, laughing at the memory, “But that was mostly because he was popular – and because you saw him in that play I dragged you to.”

“Yeah, but he was dating his co-star Jennifer at the moment, right?” he asks, Cora sighs again.

“Yeah, don’t mention her to him, though” she says, “She – uhm, it didn’t end well.”

“Huh?”

“She was arrested for murder” Cora explains, “Turns out she killed Jennifer and stole her identity. Her real name was Julia or something. So – uhm, don’t mention it?”

“I’ll keep it in mind, thanks for warning me” he says, “Anything else?”

“Yeah – you should ask him out or something” she says with a grin, “You’re a nice guy, and Derek likes you.”

“You think he’d say yes?” Stiles frowns – even if he did ask Derek out, he’d have to consider it for a long time. It wasn’t just him – he had a daughter to look out for.

“Yeah – I think he would.”

 

~~~

 

Stiles never asks him out – he doesn’t know how – and the month passes by. “Keep in touch, okay?” Stiles says when they say goodbye that last day, “Don’t make me get all the information through Cora.”

“Of course not” he smiles, “besides, you should visit the set, and you’re definitely invited to the premiere.”

“Awesome, let me know when, I’ll be there” he says, Derek nods and they shake hands before he leaves.

Derek can’t help but curse to himself as he makes his way to the subway – noticing someone snapping his picture as he waits at the stop, he should’ve asked him out. Like Cora told him to. But Derek knew he wouldn’t – maybe he’d get another chance when Stiles visited the set.

 

~~~

 

They’re already shooting the third episode of the show when the date of the premiere is revealed and they get an actual guest star for that third episode.

“Derek Hale” the man – Chris Evans – smiles at him, “It seems I’ll be playing an FBI agent today. Looking forward to working with you.”

“Yeah – same” he says, he wants to say something else, but is interrupted by his phone, “Sorry, got to take this.”

“Derek” Stiles voice calls from the other side of the line, “Is today still a good day to visit the set? Because Cat got a day off from school, and I took free from work, and she insisted on coming over. So at the moment I’m standing outside talking to some big looking dude who refuses to believe my badge is real, so uhm, can you come help us out?”

“You’re here?” he asks, noticing Chris giving him a curious look, “Uhm, yeah, I’ll be there in a minute.”

He hangs up, “Sorry, my friend is visiting today” he says, “He’s a cop, I followed him around to prepare for the role.”

Chris nods in understanding and Derek hurries off.

 

~~~

 

“Dude, this place is huge” Stiles says, following Derek and looking around, little Cat on his hand, “What episode are you shooting right now?”

“Third one” he says, “Got a guest star and everything.”

“Cool, anyone I’ve heard of?” Stiles asks, Derek shrugs, he’s not really all that up to date with other actors – mostly because he doesn’t watch movies or reads gossip magazines.

“I don’t know” he replies, walking over to the man, “Oh – here he is. Chris, this is the friend I told you about. Stiles, this is -.”

“Chris Evans?” he interrupts, “Holy Fu –dge.”

He slaps Derek’s shoulder and shoots him a look, Cat pulling on his sleeve.

“Daddy – it’s captain America” she whispers loudly, Derek frowns and Stiles sighs.

“I should’ve know, you idiot” Stiles tells Derek, “Cora told me you’re a total noob when it comes to movies. Hopeless.”

Chris just snorts and shakes his head, watching the three of them interact with each other when Stiles turns back to him, “It’s awesome to meet you! Loved Captain America, seriously” he says, bending down to pick up his daughter, “We both did.”

“Thanks” he smiles at the two of them, the little girl staring at him with her eyes wide, “and who is this little girl?”

“I’m Cat” she replies with a nod, “Like Catwoman – because my real name is stupid.”

“Hey!” Stiles responds, “I picked that one out.”

The little girl rolls her eyes and sighs deeply – in a way no four year old should be able to – and looks at him, “You named me after mommy! It doesn’t count.”

“Well – of course I named you after her” he says, “what did you expect.”

The little girl sighs again and squirms, indicating she wants to be put down again – Stiles puts her down immediately – and then turns to Derek.

“Are you and my daddy going to get married?” she asks him, Derek – who’d just taken a sip of water – starts coughing.

“Cat, sweetie, what on earth are you talking about?” Stiles asks, a blush creeping up on his cheeks as Chris mumbles something about getting called over and quickly leaves.

“Well – auntie Lydia said you two had been eye-fudging for weeks, and you should just kiss and get married already” she says with a nod, some crew member a bit further snorts at the term _eye-fudging_ and Derek blushes.

Stiles scratches the back of his head and looks around, spotting Chris a bit further, “Sweetie, why don’t you go ask Captain  America some questions so daddy and Derek can talk, okay?” he says, she nods and quickly runs off.

 

~~~

 

“Hi” the little girl is pulling on the leg of his pants and he looks at her, “Where’s your dad?”

She nods towards where Derek and Stiles are talking, “Daddy said I should ask you questions so they could talk” she says with a smile, Chris grins and nods, “Is that okay?”

“Sure, Cat” he smiles. He doesn’t know a lot about Derek Hale, apart from that he’s mainly done stage work the past few years. He’d seen him in a few plays and had been impressed with his work, he was – in fact – the only reason he’d agreed to be on this show. It also didn’t take a genius to see that Derek Hale was totally into Stiles. The way his eyes had lit up when the man called him, the way he glanced at the man when he introduced Stiles to Chris, the blush on his cheeks.

He’d always seen Derek as a grumpy type of person, but in the past ten minutes he’d learnt more about the man than he’d ever learnt from reading articles about him. Like the fact that he had a sister, or that he was into guys, or that he was dedicated enough to his job to willingly follow around a cop for almost a month.

“Can you fly?” the girl asks him, he laughs and shakes his head.

“Sadly, no” he says, “Would be cool if I could, right?”

She nods, “Daddy is a superhero too” she says, “And my first daddy was a hero to, he was a soldier and he saved lots of people.”

“That’s pretty cool” he says, the girl nods again, “Are you a superhero?”

“No” she shakes her head, “Cause I have epi – lep – sie.”

She splits up the word and says it slowly, making sure she gets it correctly, “That’s not fun” he replies, glancing over at the two men who are having a whispered conversation with each other, “But that doesn’t mean you can’t be a superhero, right?”

“You think?” she asks, frowning, Chris nods.

“Yeah – you can still be a super hero” he says, “just a very careful superhero.”

“I guess so” she says, “My uncle Scott, he has asthma, but he also saves animals and birds. It’s really cool.”

“Sounds really cool” he replies, she smiles brightly, looking over at her dad and Derek, “How about Derek, is he a superhero too?”

Cat nods vehemently, “Yes” she says, “Because he makes daddy smile. And he helped daddy when I got sick. Derek is really cool, and he’s auntie Cora’s brother, and he’s friends with Uncle Isaac. He writes books, you know.”

“Your uncle Isaac?” he asks, she nods again, “That’s really cool.”

“Cat!” Stiles calls her over and she smiles at Chris.

“Nice talking to you, mister America” she says, before running back to her dad. Derek joins him five minutes later, a wide smile on his face.

“I take it the talk went well?” he asks, Derek just nods and smiles, biting his lip nervously, “Just so you know – I’m not going to tell anyone. That’s your business.”

“Thanks” he says, and he sounds genuine about it, “I – uhm – yeah. Thanks.”

 

~~~

 

Chris doesn’t read anything about Derek Hale’s love life, nor does he really stay in touch with the man.

However, when he returns for another episode three years later – the show being on its third season – he’s not surprised to find Stiles visiting the set. He is – however – surprised to find him wearing a wedding ring.

“So” Chris turns to Derek as he arrives, nodding towards the man, “You and Stiles, huh?”

He grins widely, “Yeah” he says with a nod, “Me and Stiles.”

“You got married, I see?” he says, Derek nods, “Congratulations.”

He wants to say something else but is interrupted by Stiles running up to them, “Hi Chris, nice to see you again” he says quickly, before turning towards Derek, “I just got a call. It’s time.”

“What?” Derek’s yes widen, “You mean - ?”

“Yeah” he grins widely, “We got to go!”

“Oh shit! Now?” Derek says, quickly turning to Chris, “Hey, can you tell everyone I had to leave?”

“Uhm, yeah? What’s going on?” he asks confused, looking between the two men and watching Stiles pat his pockets and pulling out his keys.

“We’re having a baby” he replies, quickly running after Stiles, “See you later!”

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I wrote a second chapter.  
> It's mostly Stiles' version of events. A few time jumps so you get some more background story on how he got where he is now.  
> I sort of like this ending better too.

He watches it happen, and his entire world stops. Because he cannot stop her from falling, he watches, everything in slow-motion.

And she falls to the floor, twigs and leaves in her hair, her eyes empty and cold. He screams, and there are arms around his waist, keeping him away from her.

Because he cannot help her now, not anymore.

She’s gone. And he can’t do anything to change that. She’s gone, and he doesn’t know why. He doesn’t know who hurt her.

And that’s even worse.

_

He hears the whispers around him, people mumbling her name when he passes them in the hallway. But he has his friends, he has Erica and Scott who stand by him – they never leave his side.

But the whispers – that’s the hardest. He tries to talk to his dad about it, about how much it hurts. Because his dad understands, his dad has been there. But talking about it is difficult. Because talking means remembering. And he’s not sure he can do that right now. So he writes it all down, and stuffs it into his college applications before doing the only thing he knows will help him cope.

Solve her murder.

_

He solves it in the end. It takes him six months, and using his dad’s priviliges as a sheriff to get everything he needs. But he figures it out. He figures out Peter Hale being her birthfather and hiring someone to get her to him. He figures out that he made friends in prison and escaped two weeks before Malia’s death. That he gave the order to bring her to him – dead or alive. And even though he finds out who and how, the why is still a mystery.

“I’m sorry son” his dad tells him as they finally close the case, “Sometimes there just isn’t a why other than that he was crazy. Malia deserved more, you both did. And I’m so very sorry you lost her. I’m so sorry, Stiles.”

He pulls his son into a tight hug and doesn’t let go for fifteen minutes. It’s comforting, and Stiles thinks – in that short moment – that maybe he’ll be okay.

[...]

“You have to take her” Erica says, “If anything happens to one of us.”

“Why me?” Stiles asks, pinning his badge to his belt, “Why not Kira and Scott, so she’d have two parents.”

“Pfft. Are you kidding me?” she rolls her eyes, “No way. I want you, Stiles. Because you and I are a lot alike. And I like you. Also, you’d be great at it, I know that. And you already love her almost as much as I do.”

“Okay” he shrugs, “I’ll take her. If anything happens to you or Boyd, I’ll look after your little baby girl.”

“Thank you” she smiles and leans over, kissing his cheek, “So – tell me about Isaac and Cora’s break up. I’m terribly behind on all the gossip.”

 

[...]

There’s something nobody ever tells you about having children. Once they’re in your life, it’s hard to remember how your life was before they were in it.

That’s what happens when he gets little Erica. After Erica dies giving birth and Boyd dies overseas and he is left with this little girl depending on him for everything.

It gets under his skins in ways he cannot explain. When he gets a case involving a kidnapping, he goes home and hugs her tightly – listening to her complain about Eloise who stuck out her tongue at  her today in daycare.

His money is no longer spent on video games or cool T-shirts, but on dolls, and racecars. It’s spent on paint because Cat is sick of the pink walls in her room, a new backpack when her old one is worn. New shoes every six months because she grows up fast. And then suddenly he’s been her dad for three years – and he can’t remember not having her in his life.

“I know it wasn’t the best of circumstances” his dad says one evening when he comes over for dinner – Cat already fast asleep in her room, “But I love that kid.”

“Of course you do” Stiles smiles, “She’s your granddaughter.”

“Yeah – I guess so” the sheriff sighs, “It’s just – what happened to Erica’s parents?”

“They cut her off” he shrugs, “She reached out to them when she got pregnant, but they said they were done with her. I tried to contact them later on, but I found out they died in a car crash.”

“Ow” the sheriff frowns, “I didn’t know.”

“Here’s the thing dad. I promised Erica I’d be her dad” he says, “That means you’re her grandfather – no matter where she came from or how she came to us. She’s ours. And that’s what I promised Erica I’d give her. A family. And I know for a fact she’d love that you’re her grandpa.”

“You think?” he asks, Stiles grins, leaning forward and hugging his father.

“I know, dad” he says, “She told me herself.”

[...]

Cora calls him late one evening.

“Stilinski, I need a favor” she says when he picks up.

“Cora, how have you been” he replies, “Haven’t talked to you in forever. Cat is doing great, in case you were wondering.”

“Right, sorry” she sighs, “I didn’t know how to talk to you after all that went down with – you know?”

“I never blamed you, Cora” he sighs, “Never have, never will.”

“Oh – I wasn’t sure” she sighs too, “Can I still ask for a favor?”

“You can try” he replies, “Doesn’t mean I have to say yes.”

“Oh, you’ll say yes” she answers, “I talked to you boss first. Apparently if you agree to this, you get three extra days off.”

“What do you want Cora” he says, “You evil genius.”

“So – uhm. You remember my brother?” she asks slowly, he frowns.

“You mean the hotter than the sun guy we saw in that play?” he asks, “yeah, I remember?”

“Well, he got this part in a cop-show” she explains, “The lead, if you believe it. And he is sort of freaking out about it, so I said I’d arrange for him to follow around an actual cop. And I figured, why not the best there is?”

“Seriously?” he asks, “You – shit. You backed me into a corner here. Cause I need those extra days to take Cat out on a trip.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry” she sighs, “But he’s okay, you know? He won’t bother you, just set some clear boundaries on what he can and cannot do when following you around.”

“Hm, setting boundaries” he grins, “I can do that. Just like raising a kid, right?”

“Right” she smiles, “so, you’re in?”

“I am” he says, “You’re lucky I love you.”

“Yeah, love you too” she says, “Take care of my big brother.”

 

[...]

 

“I can’t believe I agreed to this” he mutters, checking his watch again, “What’s this guy’s name again?”

“Hale” Ramirez says, “He signed the paperwork to follow you around, and it’s only for four weeks.”

“Well, he’s an idiot” he says, crossing his arms, “And he’s also running late. Is that something that second rate actors do? We got a crime scene to get to.”

“Well, I’m sure he’ll be here soon, Stilinski” he says, “And if not, well. Too bad. You agreed to it… why did you agree to it again?”

Stiles checks his watch again, of course he knew the guy's name. But he wasn't about to tell everyone that he practically got backed into a corner on this by a high school friend, or that part of the reason he agreed to this was to see how Derek Hale was doing these days. 

“Because I made a deal” he says, getting up and taking his gear, “If I do this, I get an extra week off. That means I can take little Erica on a trip to the beach this year. She’s never even seen the ocean, that’s a scandalous thing for a five year old girl.”

“Wow, is she five already?” Ramirez sighs, “God, last time you took her to the precinct, she was about three.”

“I’ll bring her to visit soon, I promise” he says, “But next week is her birthday, which is both a happy and sad occasion as you know. How do you celebrate your birthday if it’s the same day your parents died?”

“Well, you’re doing a great job raising her, Stilinski” he grins, “And she loves you. Besides, she’s probably driving you crazy with what she wants for her birthday this year.”

“Oh, yeah” he grins, “Normal girls ask for princess dresses, but not Cat. She want to go bungeejumping. What five year old wants to go bungee jumping?”

Ramirez laughs, shaking his head in amusement before looking up, “Seems like your guy is here” he says, nodding at a man standing awkwardly by the door.

“Finally” he says, he grabs his gun and holsters it before walking over, “You Hale?” he asks, the man nods, “’Kay, let’s make one thing clear. I agreed to this in exchange for three extra days off, that’s all. I work too much. Clear?”

 

The man nods, giving the guy a once over, “Next time you’re late, I’m kicking your ass” he says, “You got a first name?”

“Derek” he says, cocking an eyebrow, “I’m here for detective Stilinski?”

“Yeah, I know” he says, pulling out his car keys,  “Now, next time you’re late, I leave without you. The guys are waiting for me at the crime scene, and if goddamn Dunbar got a chance to contaminate the crime scene again because I was late, I’ll kick your fucking ass. We clear?”

 

He walks through the door, Derek Hale right behind him as Stiles opens the door for him to get in the car.

“Is Stilinski at the crime scene?” he asks, sounding confused.

“What are you, stupid?” he asks, “Do I look like someone who plays taxi? Okay, I do, but Erica doesn’t count. I’m Stilinski.”

“Oh, sorry” he says, putting on his seatbelt, “Nice to meet you.”

“Yeah yeah” he starts the car, “Here’s the rules. Don’t interrupt me while I work, you stand where I tell you to stand. You can ask question on the moment I turn to you and ask you if you have any questions. Is that clear?”

“Yes” he says, nodding.

 

[...]

 

“Here’s the thing” Stiles starts one evening,  “I never planned on Cat. You know that. But – I sort of want her to have a brother or sister. And we never talked about that, you know? We never talked about whether you want kids, or if you just like Cat and that’s it. And I sort of need to know.”

“I want kids” he says, rolling over and meeting his eyes, “We should get married first, though.”

“Yeah” Stiles mutters back, then his eyes go wide, “Was that a proposal?”

“I guess it was” he says with a shrug, “You want me to redo it with some grand gesture?”

“Yes, please” he says with a smile, “I want you to go down on one knee and all.”

“I already went down on two knees today, isn’t that enough?” he asks with a snort, Stiles sighs and shoves his shoulder playfully, “But yes – grand gesture it is.”

“Thank you” he smiles and Derek rolls his eyes.

“The things I do for the man I love” he mutters under his breath, as Stiles turns around and cuddles against him, Derek wrapping his arms around him and nuzzling his neck.  

 

[...]

 

“I found a surrogate” Derek says slowly, “If you still want – I found someone to carry our baby.”

“Seriously?” Stiles looks up, placing his gun and badge in the safe, “When – how – who?”

“I asked around, you know” he shrugs, “I’m not the only gay actor in the business. And I was told about some agency, and I gave them a call. It’s expensive, sure. But I have money. _We_ have money.”

“And – you’re sure?” he asks, “I mean, you’re not just agreeing to this for me, right?”

“I’m not just agreeing to this for you, Stiles” he says – for probably the twelfth time since he brought it up, “We can meet up with her next month. After the wedding.”

“The wedding” he repeats, “Right. I have to make sure I can get some time off for our honeymoon. Ask if Scott and Kira can take Cat for a few days.”

“And if needed, I’m sure Cora and Isaac would be happy to look after her” Derek supplies, Stiles nods as Derek pulls out some papers, “But first we have to figure out the seating.”

He sighs, taking the empty chair next to Derek and looking at the chart of the tables, chairs and names, “fuck this” he mutters, “Let’s just elope.”

“Yeah” Derek replies, he tries to say it as a joke, but it comes out dead serious.

“I’m up if you are” Stiles says – suddenly happy that his dad had insisted on having Cat stay with him tonight, “Are you?”

“Yes” Derek replies, getting his keys and grabbing his phone, opening a search engine, “If we leave now, we can be there in two hours. What do you say, Stiles? Want to get married tonight?”

“Hells yeah” he grins, grabbing his coat and following Derek out the door, quickly turning off the lights as he shuts the door behind them.

_

“HI there, dad” he says cautiously when the sheriff picks up after the third ring, “So – I guess you’re probably wondering why I didn’t pick up Cat this morning.”

“It’s like you read my mind” he replies, “You know I love the munchkin, but I have work, Stiles. You better have a very good reason for this.”

“Well – I do, but you’re not going to like it” he says, biting his lip and glancing at Derek who’s coming out of the shower, a towel wrapped around his waist.

“Spill it, kid” the sheriff says impatiently.

“Well – uhm. Derek and I sort of eloped” he says, he hears his dad cough on the other side.

“Sorry, son, can you repeat that? Because I’m sure I misunderstood when you said you and Derek _eloped_ last night” he says, “You know, because Lydia Martin – your friend who’s been planning your wedding for the past three months – would most certainly kill you two if you had. And I’m not sure I’d be able to pin it on her.”

“We’ll still do the wedding, dad” he sighs, “Or at least the party. It’s just – we were going through seating charts and -.”

“Ow” the sheriff interrupts with a chuckle, “Now it all makes sense. Yeah, I thought about eloping a few times too when I was sorting out seating charts with your mother.”

“So you’re not mad?” he asks cautiously.

“I’m not” his dad replies, “But you’re the one telling Lydia.”

“Okay” he sighs, “Can I talk to Cat now?”

“Sure” he says, “Here she is.”

_

“Huh” Derek frowns as he looks at the script, “Chris is coming back this season, for another episode.”

“Evans?” Stiles asks, raising an eyebrow as he braids Cat’s hair, Derek nods.

“It’d be nice to see him again” Derek says, “I mean – we haven’t really stayed in touch, but it was nice to work with him.”

“He was pretty nice, from what I remember” Stiles agrees.

“Oh, please” Derek rolls his eyes, “You were practically drooling over him.”

“Was not” he says, “I was drooling over you – and, okay.  _Maybe_ a bit over him, too. But have you seen him?”

“I have” Derek says with a smile.

“I thought so. It’s only good he’s not playing your love interest, because I’d be so jealous” he says, Derek snorts, “What? I’m married, not dead.”

“Yeah – so I’ve been told” Derek grins back, taking Cat’s shoes and coat from the hallway and passing them to Stiles. He looks at the little girl – already seven years old – and sighs. They’d gotten a surrogate, done the ivf, and now it was waiting. And the waiting went faster than anticipated. Because the room was ready, the clothes laid out, the changing table assembled and Cat was anxious to meet her little sister.

They had already decided the kid would take Stiles’ last name, mostly so she’d have the same as Cat. They were looking into having it changed to Hale-Stilinski. But for now, it was okay. Derek had kept his name – at least in showbizz. On screen he was still Derek Hale, but on paper he was Hale – Stilinski.

 

They’d talked about Stiles taking Derek’s name, but in the end he hadn’t. There were several reasons for that. First was work, having a double last name meant a lot of paperwork, and a lot of explaining.  Second was Peter Hale. Stiles learnt that he was Derek and Cora’s uncle before they started dating, and he also knew they were distant relatives – didn’t even celebrate holidays together.

But the idea of sharing a name with the man who was responsible for Malia’s death – he couldn’t. Derek was understanding, and respectful. He didn’t complain about the picture of Stiles and Malia on the bookcase, or the yearbook on the coffeetable. And Derek hated Peter Hale just as much.

 

[...]

 

“She’s so small” Derek mutters as he hold the girl in his arms, “Are they supposed to be so small?”

“Yes” Stiles says, resting his head on his shoulder, “Cat was even smaller, you know. Two weeks early, too eager to see the world.”

“Guess she alread has something in common with her new sister, huh?” Derek smiles, “So – uhm – name?”

“Yeah” Stiles smiles, they hadn’t discussed it yet out of fear that things would go wrong, “We probably need one.”

“I thought – in honour of – Malia Laura” Derek says cautiously, gauging Stiles’ reaction.

“Yes” he says, “Yes, Der! It’s perfect.”

“She looks a lot like you” he says after a moment, “She’s got your eyes.”

“You think?” Stiles frowns – they’d decided to use Derek as a donor, so he knew it was nonsense. There were several reasons for that decision, but the main one was genetic lottery. Stiles’ family had a history of heart disease and cancer, Derek’s family had a history of having a magnificent jawline.

“Yeah” he says, “I know it’s impossible, but I think she does.”

“She has your smile” he says, the baby is just staring curiously. Babies this small don’t smile, he knows that, but still.

“God – she’s perfect” Derek sighs, “We should call your dad and everyone, but Cat first. Cat would want to meet her little sister.”

“Yeah – I’ll go call them” Stiles says, kissing Derek’s cheek and leaving the room to make some calls.

_

“Hi there” Stiles smiles – and he feels like such a domesticated husband right now, “We came to visit you on set.”

He’s pushing the stroller, Cat right behind him – because Derek works Saturdays – and looking around curiously. She hadn’t visited the set in over a year, and things had changed a lot.

They’re surrounded by a bunch of people only seconds later, all cooing over the little girl.  

“What’s her name?” Chris asks, looking at the baby in Derek’s arms.

“Millie” he says, “Well, Malia Laura, but we call her Millie.”

“I like that name, where did you get that one?” he smiles at the baby.

“In memory of” Stiles replies, “Laura was Derek’s sister, Malia was – someone important to me when I was in high school.”

“Well, it’s a beautiful name” he says, turning to Cat, “So is Erica, by the way. I like that name too.”

Cat looks at him, eyes wide in surprise, and smiles widely at him.

“You think?” she asks a little shyly, he nods and she quickly hides behind Stiles’ leg.

“She suddenly got really shy” Derek tells him, still holding Millie, “Since the baby especially.”

“Yeah, my sister’s kid had the same thing” he replies, glancing at Cat, “It’s because the baby gets all the attention now, you know?”

“Yeah – we should keep an eye on that” Derek says, looking at Cat animatedly talking to Stiles about some kid in her class.

_

“So – final season huh” Stiles asks, leaning back against the couch. Millie just turned one, Erica turned eight, and they’d just moved into their own little house, “What’s next.”

“I got an audition for playing a doctor in some show – something Grey’s anatomy like” he says, sighing, “I still can’t believe you made me watch it.”

“Yeah, I still can’t believe you got so addicted to it” he grins, straightening up a bit, “Does this mean you’re going to start following around a doctor?”

“I don’t know – maybe?” he frowns.

“Fine” Stiles sighs, “But only Lydia. We’ve both seen Grey’s anatomy, I’m not risking in.”

“Stiles, please” he rolls his eyes, “I’m not going to fall in love with someone just cause I follow him around for a month.”

“Pfft, that’s what they all say” Stiles teases, “yet, here we are.”

“Yeah" Derek smiles, pulling him closer to him as Stiles nestles his head against his shoulder, "Here we are.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I wrote a second chapter.  
> This is sort of a pulled together from two of my stories 'go get him, tiger' and 'bewitched with a twist'.  
> I know the Malia backstory isn't much, but I couldn't think of anything better. And I really have to write my bachelorpaper for school. Which I have to write in Dutch (my first language) and for some reason I'm suddenly better at English than Dutch.
> 
> Feel free to point out typos and such, my autocorrect is down, so that sucks. I hope I didn't miss anything.  
> and I hope you liked it.  
> Let me know ;)
> 
> also; the part about the 'there's something nobody ever tells you about having kids' is sort of based of my niece. Cause ever since she was born, I can't remember her not being in our lives. Same goes for my godson (her brother).

**Author's Note:**

> Not much of an ending, I know.  
> But that might come later.  
> Right now, I have to go have dinner, and then I'm finally going to see Mockingjay!
> 
> OKay, a second chapter is in the works.


End file.
